Artist Series

Artist Series Guitar Amplifiers

Drawing on decades of valve amplifier design experience, the Artist Series delivers the ultimate clean and classic overdrive tones. Simplicity and purity, coupled with flexibility.

The New Classic

At the heart of the Artist Series lies a unique power amplifier design that harnesses the tonal qualities of the revered 6L6 valve. By carefully optimising the key power amplifier parameters of the Artist Series, the Blackstar design team has created an amplifier which has the outstanding dynamics normally associated with a USA 6L6 design, whilst adding the chime and shimmer of a classic British Class A amplifier.

Pro features such as footswitching, reverb, master volume and effects loop augment the sonic experience, making the product completely equipped for today’s exacting performance requirements.

As with all Blackstar products, reliability is paramount. The Artist Series has been subject to countless hours of endurance testing, both in the laboratory and in live performance meaning you can rely on the Artist Series night after night in the most demanding gig environments.

This flexibility, tone and quality is delivered with a visual elegance worthy of the world’s greatest stages and performers. From the metallic thread in the classic paper fret to the embossed Blackstar detail on the luxury leather carrying strap, nothing has been left to chance in delivering the Artist Series - The New Classic.

Sonically Classic

Artist Series combines the articulate tonal dynamics normally associated with a USA 6L6 design, with the beautiful chime and shimmer of a classic British Class A amplifier.

Visually Classic

Attention has been paid to every detail of the Artist Series’ look, from the metallic thread in the classic paper fret to the embossed Blackstar detail on the luxury leather carrying strap.

The Artist Series’ two channels offer the widest possible palette of classic tones and each channel can be set as either a clean channel or a classic overdrive channel. With the emphasis on simplicity and sonic purity, every feature has been refined to allow a musician total freedom in shaping their own sound.

Powered by 6L6 Valves

The 6L6 power valve is revered for its big, bold American clean tones. The Artist Series runs its 6L6s in an open loop configuration further accentuating the resonant bottom end and chiming treble response. This gives the Artist power amplifier a unique sound and feel, lying somewhere between the USA sound you would expect and a British Class A tone. A further benefit of this open loop design is that the increased gain produces more singing power amp distortion – the most natural and desirable of all overdrives.

Perfect for Guitar Pedals

Artist Series are the perfect amps to run your pedalboard into. Their beautifully articulate clean tones have a clarity and natural response that will deliver every nuance of your playing. As both channels are configurable for clean you can have two different tonal options to deliver your pedalboard’s sound at the press of a footswitch.

Clean and Crunch Flexibility

Channel 1

Channel 1’s stripped down channel design is simplicity itself. The Volume and Tone controls offer just the right amount of adjustment on drive level and treble frequencies to drive the power amplifier to the optimum level, depending on your style and sound preference. Here the emphasis is on signal integrity and hence the nuances of your guitar, pedal and playing style will cut through with brilliant clarity.

Channel 2

Channel 2 offers a new level of clean and crunch flexibility. Featuring Blackstar’s patented ISF control, the widest possible variation in tone is available. Set counter-clockwise the ISF configures the tone stack to a US response, tightening the low mids and emphasising the treble and presence frequencies. Moving the control clockwise, continuously varies the tone towards a more British response, where the low mids are emphasised for a warm, ‘woody’ clean or crunch reminiscent of classic British amplifiers from years gone by.

The ISF control allows you to infinitely adjust the response of the tone control network between any of the traditional voicings in a way that has never before been possible. The whole tone stack response (i.e. Bass, Middle and Treble) is moved yet the tone controls remain fully interactive, just like in a regular tone stack.

The ISF control is continuously variable between all the traditional responses allowing you to effectively design your own sound.

Natural Sounding Digital Reverb

Artist amps feature a completely natural sounding digital reverb, which is outstandingly musical on both clean and crunch tones and raises the benchmark for guitar amplifier specific reverb design.

This exclusive Blackstar design responds beautifully to both the dynamic nature of clean sounds and the harmonically rich textures of crunch and high gain overdrive sounds. Some of the best studio reverb units in the world were used as references for developing the voicing.

The Artist 30 also has a Reverb Dark/Light switch that allows the overall reverb characteristics to be modified to suit different tastes and playing styles. In the Dark position the reverb is voiced to have a warm and mellow quality. When the Light position is selected the reverb has a brighter quality with more zing on the reverb tail.

Dual Level Effects Loop

Artist Series amps are perfect for front-ending pedals. If you prefer to use the gain on your Artist amp then a dual level effects loop on the rear panel allows you to connect effects pedals or other professional equipment using the return and send connections.

"The minute I played through the Artist 30 my face lit up. After years of searching, I've finally found "the one"Tom Clarke (The Enemy)

What's behind the Artist Series?

Artist Series Artists

Tom Clarke - The Enemy

"The minute I played through the Artist 30 my face lit up. After years of searching, I've finally found "the one"

Albert Hammond Jr. - The Strokes

"The Blackstar Artist 30 gives me amazing tone and the sonic options I need. From the studio to the stage, or from a mountain to the cage; it always delivers. It manages to do everything an amp should do!"

Waddy Wachtel

"Blackstar amps lead the charge"

Warren Haynes - The Allman Brothers Band, Gov't Mule

Marcus Bonfanti

"Between the Artisan and the Artist I got everything I need for the different gigs I do.
From all the way retro dirt to modern sparkling clean these amps have got it covered and are so easy to use."

Products In The Range

Artist 15

Artist 30

Company Info

At Blackstar, we are all musicians and understand the importance of great tone, whether practicing at home or on stage in a live environment. All of our products are designed to be world class in both quality and tonal performance while giving you the guitarist the tools you need to find 'the sound in your head'. Read More